Something's Wrong
by NickL4Dolas
Summary: Torak seems different to Renn. Something has happened to him, and what's more, she can see in his eyes that his jealously of her and Bale's relationship is flaring up. Then Wolf begins to stay away from his pack-brother. Something is different. Something had changed. What has happened to Torak?


Michelle Paver owns all!

Chapter 1

Tall Tailless was yipping in Tailless talk to the pack-sister. Wolf stared up into the Dark, then back to the Bright Beast-that-Bites-Hot. He had felt it bite his paw before, when he was just a cub, and he did not want that again.

Tall Tailless stood, and smiled at Wolf. I'll be back soon, he said. Wolf took the lingonberry Tall Tailless offered, before watching him recede into darkness. The pack-sister yawned, curling up by the warmth of the Bright Beast. She tucked her paws under her face, and was soon making the strange whiffling sound sleeping Taillesses made.

His pack-brother came back. His face was oddly solemn, and he coldly stamped out the Bright Beast. He then got out his stone claw, and began carving intricate shapes into the dirt. Wolf whined; Tall Tailless seemed troubled.

It was daytime. Renn stretched, running her fingers through her red hair to ease out the tangles. Torak stayed silent. Renn stopped.

"Torak?" she said gingerly. He turned, and gave a smile. She released the tense breath she had held. After eating some salmon cakes from her food pouch - which Rip and Rek were excluded from - Renn started back to the Raven Camp. Torak followed, scratching Wolf behind his ears. Fin-Kedinn smiled at Renn, who told her uncle about the place they had camped in the past moon. Wolf happily went to greet Darkfur and a steadily growing Pebble, who leapt at his father's face with joy.

"You've been away quite a while," Renn's uncle said, and she was alarmed to see the tiredness in his eyes. Torak stayed quiet, as if something worried him. Renn turned.

"Torak? Are you alright?" Fin-Kedinn enquired, following her eyes. Torak started.

"Ah, I'm fine!" he grinned sheepishly. But his smile simmered down to a scowl when Bale appeared. The Seal Clan boy greeted Torak, then moved over and embraced Renn, earning a dark expression from Torak. Wolf whined and edged away. Bale turned and looked at Torak, his arm still around her shoulders.

"Torak," he enquired, "what's wrong?"

Renn reached towards her friend, who viciously hit her hand away. She withdrew with a stifled cry. Bale glared at Torak.

Tall Tailless glowered into the Up. His bowl was untouched, and he moved to stare at the large Bright Beast-that-Bites-Hot.

On the other side of the fire, the pack-sister and pale-pelted who smelt of fish-dog were talking in that odd yip-and-yowl way, eating the meat that smelt of deer. The pack-sister saw Wolf watching, and tossed him a cloudberry. Wolf eagerly snapped it up.

Rip and Rek swooped low to grab a juniper fish Tall Tailless held. He swatted at them. The pale-pelted tailless left. The pack-sister was now polishing a Long-Claw-that-Flies-Far with a delicious gobbet of reindeer fat. Wolf barked and tried to take it, prompting that strange howl laugh from her. Tall Tailless approached, and Wolf growled. There was something bad about him. It made him seem Not-Breath, although he walked and breathed. His forepaw caressed Wolf's muzzle; it was as if a demon had branded him. Wolf yelped and jumped away. The pack-sister stared at Torak.

"Why did he do that?" Renn wondered aloud after Wolf cowered from Torak. He looked embarrassed.

"I think I tweaked his ear by accident," he said. He glanced at Renn. "Are you free later? I'm going to hunt roe deer."

Now Renn looked embarrassed as she twisted a lock of her red hair around her hand.

"Um, no, sorry." She looked at Torak. "Bale already asked me for something." She watched his brow momentarily furrow.

"Why?" he burst out. "Why do you stay with Bale so much? No, hear me out," he snapped when Renn tried to interrupt. "How is he so special? Just because he helped you when I was Clanless." He automatically touched the scar over his clan tattoo. He looked at the red bar indicating Renn's first-moon bleed, and realised how different they were. But Bale was different too. So why was he so amazing? Torak stomped off bitterly, leaving a confused Renn behind.

"I- Renn? What's wrong?"

She turned to see Bale, and she looked at his blond hair studded with shells, his blue eyes, his clothes. So different to Torak.

"I'm... fine," she mumbled. He squatted beside her, his hand touching hers. His was warm, whereas her pale skin was cold. He rose.

"Let's get you some warmth," he said, helping Renn to her feet. She didn't fight or object, but glancing back she thought she saw two jealous grey eyes glaring at her from the darkness.

Watching them was Fin-Kedinn, nodding and smiling at Bale and Renn when they reached the Raven Camp. She smiled back as they settled around the fire.

The Raven woman, Vedna, handed them some food, warm and fresh. Renn dug in hungrily, but paused when Torak entered the camp. Fin-Kedinn merely nodded at the boy, who scanned the camp. His cold eyes found Bale's blue ones, and he marched over. The Seal Clan boy stood.

"Torak, I-" he began. Torak's fist flew; it hit Bale's jaw with a solid crack. He staggered, before giving an angry bellow. "What was that for?" he shouted, shoving Torak, who had a nasty glint in his eye. Renn stood, attempting to control Bale's temper.

"Bale, calm down," she assured.

"Bale, calm down," Torak mimicked. This earned him a hurt glance from Renn. "Don't you see, Renn? He doesn't see you as friends. He wants you for his mate!"

"What's wrong with that?" she replied angrily, and Torak's bristled. "So you're jealous, Torak, congratulations. So why are you being such a jerk? What have I done?" He scowled and kicked at the embers. Not scuffing his feet. Deliberately.

Hot sparks and tiny, charred wood chips flew up and hit Renn's ankle. She cried out at the burn, recoiling reflexively. Fin-Kedinn called to Torak to come over to talk. His usually twinkling blue eyes had an icy edge to them.

The last thing Renn registered was Bale getting a cool, soothing poultice for her ankle, and Torak's hard glare in her direction, before he went to see her uncle.

Wolf was lying by the pack-sister. The pale-pelted tailless was out hunting. The thing that looked like Tall Tailless but wasn't Tall Tailless hadn't appeared throughout the whole Dark. Now, as the Hot Bright Eye warmed Wolf's back, he reappeared.

The pack-sister seemed wary as he approached. Wolf gave a soft growl at the coldness in Tall Tailless' eyes, those pale grey wolf eyes of his once pack-brother.

He began to speak in low, furious tones to the pack-sister. She replied with what sounded like, 'whatisit?' Then her strange, flat face twisted into an expression even Wolf knew. It meant she was angry.

She stood, and the two began to argue heatedly. Wolf shrank away, and whined when his pack-brother held his paw up at the pack-sister. His pelt tightened with worry and fear as Tall Tailless lashed out at her.

This wasn't the Tall Tailless he had once known. The old Tall Tailless wouldn't have lifted a paw against the pale-pelted tailless, and would definitely never have hurt the pack-sister.

Wolf whined as his pack-brother raised his forepaw again. But this time he held his great stone claw.

The pack-sister gave a high-pitched yowl, cowering from Tall Tailless like a hare hides from a wolf.

Suddenly, the leader Tailless came running. His cold blue eyes were fixed upon Tall Tailless, and the raised stone claw. He grabbed it and pulled Tall Tailless away with him, into the forest. Wolf whined and rushed to the pack-sister, who was shaking. As he reassured her with licks, Wolf knew she was also wondering why Tall Tailless was so mad.


End file.
